I’m not sure iOS players are a cash cow. It’s a pretty cheap game with no buy ups and just keeping up with platform updates costs developer time. I would love to support ConcernedApe and crew by purchasing a Ginger island port as an expansion pack or something…
I agree that mobile version of the game generates less cash per copy sold than the console or PC version. But this is a broader market and usually developers for mobile make huge numbers by selling far more (less expensive) games than they would make with more expensive version of the same game on PC/console. Most of the time, the price difference is explained by:
- the fact that gaming experience is usually less good on mobile (smaller screen, less controls, playing in transit leads to lesser gaming experience...)
- the fact the mobile users were taught to have more games on their device that they play less long (can be extended to many mobile apps to be honest)
So in the long run, it is possible to generate more money with a cheaper mobile version of a game than with a more expensive PC version. I have no idea if this is the case for Stardew Valley though.
Nonetheless, I also agree with you that what Stardew Valley players get for their money (especially mobile users) with all the nice original content, new updates and support over the years for
one single payment is really,
really impressive. It reminds me of the "gool ol' days"
when we could buy a copy of a game and play it as long as we want, getting regulars free updates/bug fixes from the studios and still play the game on our PC/Console long after the studio was closed or have dropped support for the game. And I'm extremely grateful to ConcernedApe for that ; I consider such policy as part of the gaming experience.
As for me, I have more than one copy of the game and I show my support to ConcernedApe by buying SDV merchandising, probably more than I did for any other game so far.
